This invention relates to a stand, such as a carriage, shelf or similar, comprising vertical posts and horizontal supports fastened to said posts and assembled into a quadrangular construction, said verti¬ cal posts being L-shaped in cross-section.

Stands of this type are used for different table and shelf constructions, which can be stationary or movable, whereby wheels are fastened to the lower ends of the vertical posts.

When manufacturing carriages or similar products it is difficult to provide a construction which is both stable in construction and attractive in appearance and which, in addition, can be advantageously manufactured. The carriages in use are of , such a construction that they have either visible weld or bolt joints spoiling the appearance or each corner joint is obtained by means of an easily damageable connection piece. A carriage and shelf system is previously known in which the vertical posts and the horizontal supports are formed by hollow metal bars which are square in cross-section, whereby the joints are obtained by means of connecting pieces of different shapes which are provided with two or more square legs, which can be in¬ serted into the vertical posts and the horizontal supports in order to connect them to each other. Such a joint based on a sliding fit, however, makes the stand rather swaying and easily breakable. It is also previously known to use as' vertical posts L-shaped metal bars to which the horizontal supports are fastened by means of welding, rivetting, or bolts. The horizontal supports are in this case at their side surfaces fastened to the flanks of the L-shap- ed vertical posts so that the heads of the bolts or

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rivets remain unattractively visible outwards. The L- shaped vertical posts are in this case mounted so that they all open inwards towards each other or outwards in pairs towards each other. Because the flanks of the vertical posts are fastened to the side surface of the horizontal supports, corresponding holes must be bored in the side surface, or the side surface must be provid¬ ed with a continuous fastening groove into which the bolt is screwed, which makes the horizontal supports unattractive in appearance.

The object of the present invention is to provi¬ de a stand which avoids the above mentioned disadvanta¬ ges, and this object is achieved by means of a stand according to the invention which is characterized in that the L-shaped vertical posts are mounted so as to open outwards in the direction of the diagonal of the quadrangular construction, and in that the horizontal supports are at their end surfaces fastened to the flanks of the vertical posts by means of fastening mera- bers extending through said flanks of the vertical posts.

The invention is based on the idea that by mounting the L-shaped vertical post to open outwards in the direction of the diagonal of the quadrangular cons- truction, it is first of all possible to fasten the horizontal supports with their end surfaces to the flanks of the vertical post and, secondly, the heads of the fastening bolts remaining inside the square angle defined by the flanks of the L-shaped vertical post can be utilized for fastening other means, such as wheels and end plugs. Due to the fact that the horizontal supports can be fastened with their end surfaces to the flanks of the vertical posts, it is possible to use fastening bolts which are screwed into continuous faste- ning grooves formed inside the horizontal supports. These fastening grooves remain quite invisible in the assembled

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stand. When the stand is made as a carriage, the guidan¬ ce and support required for the fastening elements of the wheels is in a simple manner obtained from the heads of the fastening bolts, which are located within the angle defined by the L-shaped vertical post. Due to this the fastening of the wheels can be carried out quickly and without difficulties and does not require any making of holes or similar in the vertical post itself. If desired, a cover strip, behind which the heads of all fastening bolts remain out of sight, can be simply fastened to the vertical post.

The invention will be described in more detail in the following with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of a carriage according to one embodiment of the invention,

Figures 2 to 4 illustrate profile bars of which the carriage is assembled,

Figure 5 is a perspective view on an enlarged scale of the corner construction of the carriage, partly disassembled,

Figure 6 illustrates a fastening element for a wheel,

Figure 7 illustrates on a larger scale the mounting of a fastening, element for a wheel partly in section, and

Figure 8 is a section along line VIII-VIII in Figure 7.

The carriage 1 shown in Figure 1 of the drawing is assembled of four vertical posts 2 and horizontal supports 3 which are fastened to said posts and are grouped above each other so that always four horizontal supports form a base for a shelf plate 4. To the lower ends of the vertical posts are fastened transport wheels 5.

Each vertical post 2 consists of a metallic profile bar 6 which is L-shaped in cross-section and of a cover strip 7. The bar 6 has two flanks 6a, 6b per¬ pendicular to each other. The bars 6 are fastened to the vertical supports 3 so that the square angle between the flanks of each bar opens in the direction of the diagonal of the quadrangular stand formed by the verti¬ cal posts and the horizontal supports outwards i.e. away from the central axis of the stand. The horizontal supports 3 are formed by a rec¬ tangular hollow metallic profile bar 8 provided with two internal longitudinal fastening grooves 9. The horizon¬ tal bars are mounted to press with their end surfaces 8a against the flanks of the vertical post, and for this purpose fastening bolts 10 are from the inside of the angle defined by the L-shaped bar 6 screwed into engage¬ ment with the fastening grooves 9 in the horizontal bars 8, as best appears from Figure 5. Such a fastening makes the joint between the vertical post and the horizontal support very stable.

From Figure 5 it will be noted that the heads 10a of the fastening bolts extend into the angle between the flanks 6a, 6b of the vertical bar 6, and this fact is utilized for fastening of the wheels 5 of the carriage. The wheel support is in a manner known per se journalled by means of a vertical pin in a fastening element 11 which is shaped so that it can be pushed axially into the vertical bar 6 between its flank 6a, 6b. Grooves 12 are machined in the fastening element so that between the grooves is formed a dovetail guide 13 which in shape fits between the heads 10a of the fastening bolts projecting from both flanks of the vertical post in the manner shown by Figure 8. The bottoms of the grooves 12 in the faste¬ ning element are located in such a position that, when the fastening element is inserted in the vertical bar 8

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and the heads of the lower fastening bolts contact the bottoms of the grooves, the lower surface of the faste¬ ning element is located slightly underneath the lower surface of the vertical post and the upper surface of the fastening element slightly underneath the heads of the upper fastening bolts, as appears from Figure 7. To the upper end of the fastening element is by means of a bolt 14 fastened a locking plate 15 which, from above, is pressed against the fastening element and the heads of the upper fastening bolts. It will be noted that the fastening element can by means of the heads of the fastening bolts be locked to the vertical post in the axial direction thereof, and that the fastening element, in addition, can be locked to the vertical post in a direction perpendicular thereto, not only by means of edge beads in the flanks 6a, 6b of the vertical bar, but also by means ^' of the guide 13 extending between the heads of the fastening bolts.

To the end of the vertical bar is mounted an end plug 16 provided with downwardly extending claws 16 which engage behind the head 10a of the topmost fastening bolt and secure the end plug against the end surface of the vertical bar when the fastening bolt in question is tightened. The corner of the L-shaped vertical bar 6 is covered by a flexible cover strip 7 so that the heads of the fastening bolts remain out of sight.

The drawings and the description relating thereto are only intended to illustrate the idea of the invention. In its details, the stand according to the invention' may vary considerably within the scope of the claims.

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